CodeShoujodotexe
by Vasili McFrost
Summary: After a run-in with the shadier side of the law, Self-proclaimed "Not-a-hacker" Yukimura Isuka is finally allowed to attend school again. The catch? She's under surveillance 24/7 by both the authorities and an anti-feminist ex! Rated T for occasional language and mild Ecchi.
1. Act 0: Part I: HAAAX!

11:26 AM

 **BGM: The Student Council**

I sit at my living room table, tapping away at my laptop. Lines of nearly indecipherable words and numbers string together, nearly filling the entire screen. Of course, indecipherable to most. I'm one of the few that knows this programming language and one of the few to use it for something other than hacking.

Takehito "Hey, Isuka! Have you seen my leftover fruit salad?"

Isuka "I think it's in the door of the refrigerator."

My name is Yukimura Isuka. I'm a member of the local computer store's technical support team. Female hackers are considered rare, but I don't really consider myself a hacker in the first place. Due to a heart condition, I've been home schooled by my brother Takehito, since middle school. It's a rare birth defect that gave me heart valves smaller than the average human girl. I was told I also have a slight case of arrhythmia, but since it's never bothered me, no medicine was prescribed for it. It's hardly life threatening unless I suffer trauma to the chest area or overwork myself. But my father figured that was reason enough to pull me out of my school during 6th grade.

I notice Takehito setting a bowl of sliced apples on the table behind my laptop.

Takehito "By the way, _Imouto_. Do you know why there seems to be only half of my fruit salad left?"

 _Oh, he's saying "Imouto" instead of my name, I'm in trouble._

I pause from my coding frenzy and look up at him through my large round glasses.

Isuka "Just be blunt. What are you trying to ask me?"

Takehito "I'll get straight to the point, then. Did you eat half of my fruit?"

Isuka "Yes."

He sighs. This is a normal occurrence for us.

Takehito "This is the fourth time this week. Could you at least let me know when you're eating my food so that I can make more?"

Isuka " _Haaaaiiii_."

I turn my attention back to my work.

Takehito "Honestly, you never change, do you?"

Isuka "What are you talking about? I haven't stopped growing yet."

Takehito "That's not what I meant. I meant that you're still wearing that silly thing. You still act pretty much the same as well."

I touch my head, and sure enough, I'm still wearing my visor. Come to think of it, that's why everyone calls me a hacker. It's a black visor that has "HACK FOR JUSTICE" written on it in green capital letters. It contrasts strongly with my shoulder length silver hair that's done up in a ponytail on the left side of my head.

Isuka "Are you saying that I should change?"

Takehito "If you worked on reporting the supplies situation more often, that would be nice. I just now found out that we're out of milk."

Isuka "Oh my."

He stands up and grabs his coat and keyring.

Takehito "I'm going to go shopping. Is there anything we'll need?"

Isuka "We need more cereal as well. We're also out of basil.

Takehito "Cereal, basil, and milk. Got it. I'll be back in a few minutes. Don't forget to put on some clothes before you answer the door."

I look down and remember that I'm only wearing panties and a loose tee. I guess it would be problematic to answer the door in this attire.

Isuka " _Ja matane_."

Takehito walks out the door whilst spinning he keyring. Moments later, I hear his bike's engine start, followed by the sound of it pulling out of the driveway, then dead silence.

I stand up slowly and walk into my room. I put on a pair of track shorts and a green T-shirt. I walk back into my living room and continue my work. It takes a few more minutes, then I'm done. I transfer the files onto a flash drive and toss it into my work backpack.

Isuka "Maybe I should work extra hours today?"

It's my day off from tech support, but I don't really have anything to do. I make up my mind and grab my cellphone, opening the text menu and tapping away at the screen.

* * *

Y Isuka - M Yuu

11:34 AM **Hey, Yuu. You need a hand at the desk? I don't have any plans today.**

 **That would be great. There's a pretty long line today, and Misaki had to bail.** 11:34 AM

11:34 AM **It's getting towards lunchtime. I'll grab a quick bite and switch places with you until you eat lunch.**

 **Thanks, Isuka. You're a lifesaver. I'll eat fast so that we can both work. ^_^** 11:35 AM

* * *

Well, I guess that's that. I heave a deep sigh at my own stupid sense of duty and walk to the bathroom for a shower.

* * *

11:45 AM

 **BGM: Ease**

After a quick shower, I put on my work uniform and write a note to Takehito before I jump onto my bicycle. It's not a motorcycle, no. But it has twenty-one gears and powerful breaks, so it should get me to my destination both fast and safe.

After a while, I see the department store that I work at. It's only about a mile from my neighborhood, so it's not all that long of a drive. A quick peek at my watch tells me that it's 11:50 now. Right on time.

I chain my bike outside the employee entrance and clock in.

I walk over to the tech support desk. Sure enough there are at least twenty people lined up at Yuu's work area.

Yuu "Ahh! Isuka! Perfect timing."

Isuka "Go ahead and eat, I want to talk about the project when we're done."

Yuu "Understood. I'll see you in about ten minutes."

Isuka "Now then, what seems to be the problem?"

Customer "Umm, I think I might have a some spyware on this PC."

The man carries the large desktop to my work area. I plug it into the power strip underneath my desk and hook up the spare monitor. I turn it on and have him enter the password.

Isuka "Huh. This looks like a pretty nasty one. The easiest thing to do would be to restore from a backup, but this little bugger is keeping me from accessing the start menu."

I go to my work computer and make a backup of my flash drive's contents before plugging it into the customer's PC and clicking "autoplay". I open the menu and input a few commands into the program. After about five minutes, it's located and removed the malicious files.

Customer " _Arigatou._ I'm sure that they don't pay you enough for your work here, so take this."

He hands me a five-thousand yen banknote. I thank him for his tip, and pocket it.

Isuka "Right, only nineteen to go..."

* * *

12:00 PM

True to his word, Yuu only took a few minutes to eat and come back to the workplace. In fact, he came back sooner than I expected.

Isuka "Fast! That was fast!"

Yuu "I said I would only take ten minutes..."

Isuka "Nevermind that, take half of the line."

I'm in full working gear, I'm in the zone. I've cleaned up three cases of adware, two blue screens and a spyware so far. I'm on a roll, and there's nothing that can stop me. I'm running my hands across the keyboard like a pair of spiders as I unplug the seventh PC I've fixed today.

Finally, the last person in line walks up. He's a middle-aged man wearing a tailored suit walks up to the desk.

Old man "Yukimura Isuka."

I falter for a moment. This guy looks like a shady businessman. Just hearing his voice triggers my sixth sense. I give him a once-over, and immediately know why he's here. It's a no-brainer.

Isuka "Yes, that's me. Is there something I can help you with?"

Old man "You're well know in this area as a "tech mage" of sorts. I have a job for you. One that pays good money."

Isuka "No."

I turn him down bluntly and rudely. I'm well known in this area as "The Hacker Mage". I've mastered every well-known programming language as well as a few lesser-known ones. This isn't the first time well dressed older man came with a job offer. I have a few online acquaintances who have been in prison for cyber-crime before. They all told me the same thing: avoid well-dressed businessmen. It's become something of a motto for me.

"Hackers and suits don't mix outside of the internet."

Of course, I'm not really a hacker, so I don't really have anything to be afraid of as long as I stay away from people like him.

Old man "But miss, you're the most talented person I've seen. You're wasting your skills on this jo-"

 **BGM: Off**

 _Wham!_

I slam my fist on the counter and glare at him.

Isuka "No means no. Don't ask me again."

Old man "B-but miss..."

Ichika "Excuse me, what seems to be the problem here?"

The manager pops up out of nowhere. She must have a sixth sense for when her workers are being poached.

The old man sighs and mumbles a half-hearted apology before walking out the door. After the man is out of earshot, my boss turns to face me.

Ichika "Today's your day off, isn't it? Why aren't you at home with your family?"

Isuka "My dad's at work and my brother is shopping. I don't have much to do."

Ichika "Oh well, it looks like you're out of customers, so you two can take a break. Nice work, guys."

* * *

14:30

 **BGM: Air Guitar**

Isuka " _Uwaaa_... it's hardly any different here than at home, now. _Boring_."

Yuu "You looked like you burned through a lot of energy earlier. Take this."

He hands me a cold sports drink. I thank him and pop it open. I take a sip and roll up the sleeves on my work shirt.

Isuka "I finished my Anti-virus program this morning. The interface needs a bit of TLC, so I'll be depending on you for that."

Yuu grabs the flash drive and plugs it into his work PC.

Yuu "How's this?"

After a few minutes, he turns the screen towards me. I lean in to take a closer look.

Isuka "That's a lot more friendly to the eyes. I approve. Now, we sit on it and wait for the boss's verdict."

Yuu "How about a game in the meantime?"

Isuka "You do know that you aren't supposed to have games on the work computers, right?"

Yuu "On the BATTLEMECH arcade machines, not on the computers. You that I'm not _that_ carefree."

Isuka "You're on. I call Naisho II."

Yuu "I guess that means I get Schraider."

* * *

15:30

 **BGM: Afternoon**

After about another hour of fooling around the workplace, the boss lets us go home early since there's not much business today. I grab my things and hop on my bike. I say goodbye to Yuu and begin to pedal my way back home.

I reach my home safe and sound. Takehito's motorcycle is parked in the driveway, meaning he's back home as well. I walk in the front door.

Isuka " _Ta-dai-ma._ "

Takehito "How was work?"

Isuka "Erratic. It was real fast at first, but it quickly got quiet, so the manager told us we could clock out for the day."

I walk into the kitchen and pour myself a cold glass of milk.

Takehito "You know, you tend to clear out the lines there fair quickly. Why don't you get a more prestigious job like Dad's?"

Isuka "Because I like my job. I get decent pay, and I'm well known and liked by everyone in the area."

Takehito "Still. Shouldn't you be thinking about the future?"

Isuka "Of course. If I can't fine a suitable boyfriend, I'll just visit a matchmaker. I've saved up a decent amount of cash, so I'll buy a medium-sized house a short ways from here."

I sit down at the living room table after changing back into casual attire and open up my laptop. After entering a forty digit password, I open up my browser and visit my favorite blog.

Takehito "Wow... I guess you really do have things planned out. I thought you would end up as a NEET or something."

Isuka "What are you talking about? I know university level programming, algebra, geometry, and physics. I've only used those for programming, but I could always use them for something else."

Takehito "I stand corrected. There's no way in hell you would learn that stuff from me, though."

Isuka "I took online classes."

Takehito "I see. I guess you have changed after all."

Isuka "What makes you say that?"

Takehito "You used to be really non-committal about school. I'm glad you took the time to learn that stuff."

Isuka "You used to be a _real_ tight-ass about schoolwork. You've mellowed out a bit, though."

Takehito "I'm not exactly thrilled to hear that from you."

I laugh at him and continue to browse the site in order to fight off my boredom.

Takehito "Oh, man! I forgot something important at the store!"

Isuka "That's your own fault. If you want to go get it though, go ahead."

Takehito "Sorry. Goodbye."

Isuka "Have a safe trip ' _Onii-chan_ '."

He walks out the door in a hurry. I hear his bike pull out of the driveway for the second time today.

 **BGM: Off**

Something about that was odd, but whatever. I stand up and walk into the kitchen. I open up the cabinet next the fridge where we keep the cereal, and pull out a box of corn flakes.

Isuka "He didn't forget the basil, did he?"

After I fix myself a bowl of cornflakes complete with raisins, and check the spice rack. There's nothing missing. The basil is here, and he even got more cinnamon while he was out. We have plenty of food in the fridge, and nothing was missing from the cabinet either. What would he need at the store?

The realization hits me when I hear the door break down.

 _"Sorry. Goodbye."_

Now I realize why those words struck me as odd. I can hear people running through the house now, followed by the clicks of firearms being loaded outside.

Officer "Hands up."

I turn around slowly and see a man dressed in full body armor. That's not the worst part. He's pointing an assault rifle at me.

 **BGM: Cold Iron**

Officer "Hands up. Now."

But I can't. I try to raise my arms, but a blinding pain runs along them when I try.

If he pulls that trigger, a 5.56mm bullet will pierce my body at a velocity of 920 meters per second. If the first shot doesn't kill me, the aftershock will.

That's when I finally notice that my heart is beating incredibly fast. Faster than it should be.

 _Arrhythmia._

The beating in my chest stops.

I fall backwards into the fridge, attempting to clutch at my chest. I can hear shouting, but my sense of hearing quickly cuts out. This is followed shortly by my consciousness fading to black.

After a what seems like forever, I feel my heart kick back into gear.

I'm lying on the floor on my side. I feel like I've run a marathon in under ten seconds. I try to move my arm, but I'm so tired, I can barely do more than flop it around like a fish out of water.

 **BGM Caged Heart**

Officer "We need a medic here!"

I feel a cold finger on my neck. Probably checking my pulse. I can feel myself being lifted onto a stretcher. After they ensure that I'm tied down, they wheel me outside. With tremendous effort, I turn my head to see several police vehicles outside of my house.

Isuka "What... is going on?"

Nurse "What the hell, detective? You were supposed to arrest them, not shoot them!"

Officer "I didn't shoot her. She flopped onto the floor while grabbing at her tits."

I feel someone turn my head skyward. A light shines in my right eye.

Nurse "Well, thank the lord she seems to be alright."

Officer "Are you sure she's the one we're looking for? She doesn't look like much."

Nurse "I'm worried about other things at the moment, thank you. Go join the search team and make yourself useful."

The officer from before spits out a foul word and leaves.

Nurse "You don't seem to be seriously injured. Do you have a heart condition of some type?"

Isuka "Yes. I have small heart valves and a mild case of arrhythmia."

Nurse "That sounds like an unhealthy combination. How do you stay fit?"

Isuka "I do yoga. You can drop the small talk now. Tell me what's happening."

Nurse "Straight to the point, huh? Well, a certain law-enforcing organization wants you to help them track down some unsavory cyber-criminals. They don't want to take no for an answer, so they'll probably threaten you with a life sentence for obstructing justice or some crap like that unless you help them. I don't really know the way these shady organizations work, nor do I want to."

Isuka "I see. I'll talk to them later. I don't feel like negotiating right now."

Nurse "You mean you're the hacker?"

Isuka "Not hacker. Programmer. I make anti-virus software."

Nurse "How old are you?"

Isuka "Sixteen. I'm turning Seventeen next month."

Nurse "Let's see... Yukimura Isuka?"

Isuka "Yes, that's me. What about you?"

Nurse "Hmm. Well, you can just call me nurse. That's what most people do."

I look up at his nametag that's pinned onto his police vest. The most I can make out is his given name.

Isuka "Is it alright if I just call you Sakuya?"

Sakuya "That's fine, too."

He whistles, pulls out a stethoscope and shuts the doors in the ambulance. He tells the driver to go, and I feel the vehicle begin to move. He fiddles with the recliner on the stretcher until I'm sitting in an upright position.

Sakuya "That's amazing. Especially with how young you are, and being a girl to boot. Skill like yours is incredibly rare. Could you lift your shirt for my please?"

Isuka "Well, my dad works for an internet security company. He taught me most of the common programming languages there are. I taught myself the rest."

I speak while lifting my shirt up.

Sakuya "Uhh, pardon the intrusion, but shouldn't you be wearing a bra at your age?"

I look down. I guess I wasn't wearing one after all.

Isuka "They aren't very big, so a bra isn't really necessary."

He presses the stethoscope just over my heart and nods.

Sakuya "You appear to be stable. I would recommend seeing a doctor afterwords and getting medication. Is this the first time you've had an attack?"

Isuka "This is the first time my arrhythmia has caused me any trouble. I try to take it easy."

Sakuya "That's good. Get some rest. You're going to need it."

I nod at him as he puts away his stethoscope and lays the stretcher back down. I'm absolutely exhausted, so sleep takes me in a manner of minutes.

As my consciousness dims, I think to myself.

 _They were looking for Takehito, weren't they?_

* * *

 **Writer, here. Just wanted to let you know that I'm sorry for being a lazy butt and not releasing this a week ago.**

 **A whole ton a crap has happened, and at some point, I just hit a stroke of bad luck. Every time I got into the zone while writing Kuroki's storyline, I ended up getting interrupted by one thing or another. Whenever I DID manage to get enough time alone, I just couldn't get into the zone.**

 **So, I'm sorry.**

 **I'll try to upload the next chapter of To Lose Something soon.**

 **Until then, why don't you guys try to find the hidden message I hid inside the cover art? Send me a PM if you find it, and I'll give you a little surprise in the next TLS Chapter!**


	2. Act 0: Part II: Ones and Zeros

**Before I start, Let me say something real quick.**

 **This is a work of fiction. Any real life characters and events that bear resemblance to this story are purely coincidental. The characters and events that exist inside this story come from my brain.**

 **That should keep me off some shady organization's watch list.**

 **I think.**

* * *

2:00 PM

 **BGM: Caged Heart**

I sit with my hands folded at the center of the table. The young man sits on the other side, leisurely eating a sandwich.

Guard "Good stuff. Want half? I'm sure they haven't fed you since this morning."

Isuka "Thank you, sir. You're very kind."

He politely hands me the other half of his sandwich. It's loaded with avocados, cheese, and honey-mustard.

Guard "So, why are you here?"

Isuka "You don't know?"

Guard "They just asked me to keep an eye on you. Make sure that you don't try to kill yourself, or something like that. Although I doubt that would happen."

Isuka "They think I'm a computer hacker."

Guard "Are you?"

Isuka "I may have the skill required to be one, but no. I'm an anti-virus programmer."

Our small talk is cut short when somebody pounds on the one-way mirror from the observation deck.

Intercom "Stop talking. That girl is a hacker who has already breached several corporations."

Isuka "Where is your proof? I assume you have some, correct?"

Intercom "The interrogator will be there soon enough, don't get your panties in a bunch."

Isuka "How rude."

After a medical checkup, they stripped me, stuck me in a padded cell in a straight-jacket, and held me there until the next day. They dragged me out of the cell in my straight-jacket and brought me here. I've been here for roughly half an hour or so. They were kind enough to unlock my jacket, but I'm still wearing it.

Finding out that Takehito was the one they wanted was a big shock to me. I didn't even think he could program, but here I am, sitting in an interrogation room in an unknown location, moments away from questioning. I still can't bring myself to believe that he abandoned me just like that, but every clue points to that fact. I have nothing left to do but accept it.

Not a moment after the rude intercom shouted at me, two men enter. The first one is the lovely gentleman that pointed a gun at me. The other is a familiar-looking old man in a business suit. It's the same old man that tried to hire me yesterday.

Isuka "What, you couldn't hire me, so you arrested me? What a sore old geezer."

Old Man "No, no, that's not it at all. I'm a detective, you see. I was seeking you out so that I could catch you in the act of illegal hacking."

Isuka "I try to stay away from people like that for a good reason."

Old Man "And you did a good job of it. However, someone you know has not stayed away from those people. This person is known as "Yuto", which is just a pseudonym, I'm sure you know."

Isuka "You're trying to tell me that someone I know is a hacker for hire?"

Old Man"Yes. Specifically, your brother. "Takehito" isn't a name you hear every day, is it? Neither is "Isuka". Your brother used an abbreviation of his real name for his activities. Not a very smart decision."

That's what I thought. Takehito is gone now. He left me as bait for the law and vanished into thin air.

 _"I'm sorry. Goodbye."_

I heave a deep sigh.

Isuka "Even if all of that is true, why am I here? And why am I wearing this thing?"

Old man "You're charged as an accessory. It's low, I know, but it's effective."

Isuka "What was your original intention if you caught Takehito instead of me?"

Old Man "Well, there's this nasty little group of cyber terrorists that we need tracked down. We were planning on using you as leverage against him to make him cooperate."

Isuka "How nasty is this group?"

Old Man "They've been hacking into the police database and stealing the addresses of police families. There have already been several families targeted. Robbery, kidnapping, and even murder. We haven't figured out their motive, but they have to be stopped."

Isuka "I'll do it. But I have two conditions."

The man in casual clothing speaks up, having been quiet the entire time.

Detective "You aren't in any position to bargain. Besides, you're not the one we're looking for."

Isuka "Please, hear me out. They are both simple, and easy to fufill."

Detective "Like I said, you aren't-"

Old Man "Tell me what you want."

I take a deep breath and speak my first request."

 **BGM: Standing Tall**

Isuka "I want to go to school."

The room goes quiet.

Detective "What?"

Isuka "I said: I want to go to school."

Detective "I heard that part, but what do you mean by that?"

Isuka "My father hasn't let my attend a public school since 6th grade due to a heart condition. It's been online lessons and homeschooling for as long as I can remember. I want to attend a public school. I want to experience high-school life while I'm still a teenager."

The room is entirely quiet.

Old Man "That can be done."

Detective "Sir! I respectively ask that you do not grant her requests like that."

Old Man "What's the harm? It'll give her extra motivation!"

The old man lets out a long gravelly laugh at his younger partner.

Old Man "Now, then. What's this second request you have?"

Isuka "I want this detective here to pay for everything he damaged or broke on my property. That includes my heart."

The old man widens his eyes and laughs even harder. At one point, he even slaps his hand against the tabletop.

Old Man "Done!"

Detective "Sir! I object!"

The old man stops laughing and stares at his partner.

Old Man "How long have we been after Yuto?"

Detective "...Two years, sir."

Old Man "How many times has he escaped from us?"

Detective "...Several times, sir."

Old Man "Now. Tell me the odds of us catching him before the next attack."

The detective is silent. He stares back at his boss with fear written on his face.

Old Man "That's what I thought. I want this done as soon as possible, before another family gets hurt. The girl is as capable as Yuto. After all, our best lab techie wasn't able to access her laptop. And she's our best chance right now."

After a few moments of silence, I speak up.

Isuka "Does this mean I'm hired?"

Old Man "Yes. Guard, can you escort our new colleague to the evidence room to collect her items?"

Guard "Yes, sir."

I follow the polite young guard through the hallway.

 **BGM: Off**

 _Once I'm done with this, I'm going to hunt you down like a dog, Takehito._

 _And then I'll find out why you just tossed me away to save your own skin._

* * *

 **Sorry for the short chapter. It's only the prologue, so I would like to avoid dragging it on too long. R &R Please!**


	3. Act I, Part I: Open mouth Insert pizza

**Friday, 11:45 PM, Outside the new home.**

Yorito "We're here."

I crack open my eyelids and look out the window. A two-story building with an uncountable amount of windows looms ahead. If I were to describe it, I would say it looks like a small office building that's only two-stories tall. This building is going to be my home from now on. The man in the front seat parks the black SUV in the driveway and steps out. He looks around for about two minutes before he's satisfied that there are no snipers waiting to remove my head. I open the car door after he gives me the okay and walk quickly to the front door of the building. Yorito knocks rhythmic on the door while keeping me shielded with his body. He stops me when I scoff and reach for the door handle.

Yorito "The man I have waiting in the house is a professional trained killer. If you simply saunter inside, you'll get hanged by piano wire."

Isuka "Are these measures really necessary? What are the odds that someone has tracked me down?"

Yorito "It's a non-zero probability. That's all you need to know. In our line of work, you make enemies on a daily basis."

Isuka "So you people dragged me into your problems knowing that someone would want me dead? You're hardly better than the people I tossed in prison."

Yorito ignores my insult and turns back to the door. His face flares with anger, and his fist clenches. For a moment, I think he's about to hit me. He lifts his fist up and punches the door. Hard.

Voice "Calm down, old friend! I'm just taking down the piano wire, so give me a moment!"

My bodyguard sighs irritably. I know he has other things he would rather be doing right now. After I hear a few deadbolts click, the door opens to reveal a grey-haired man in his early forties. He's about two heads taller than me with grey eyes and a pair of square-framed blue-tinted glasses. He takes one glance at me, and his eyes fill with confusion.

Suspicious Man "Ehh? Isuka?"

Yorito "I take it you've read the file for once?"

Suspicious Man "No, not yet. I already know this girl."

I look over him again and think.

 _Come on, there's only one person you've known who wears blue-tinted glasses like that._

Isuka "Setou Akio. It's nice to see you again."

Akio "...Not under the current circumstances. Get in here, kiddo. We have a lot to talk about."

* * *

 **Saturday, 1:30 AM, Home, Living room.**

Isuka "...That's the gist of it."

 **BGM: Out of the Loop**

After our little scene at the doorstep, Yorito bid his farewell and left without even coming inside. Akio is currently sitting on the couch across from me with his feet resting on the coffee table that separates us. He nods as I finish telling my story.

Akio "I see... Well, the fact that you were used like that probably means you're from a shadier branch than I am."

Isuka "And what branch would that be?"

Akio "That's classified."

Isuka "I could probably find out in under an hour anyway, so why don't you go ahead and tell me?"

Akio "I'd love too, but I have to read this file I've been neglecting up until no-"

I snatch the fold from his hands, pop it open, and skim the contents.

Akio "H-hey! That's classifi-

Isuka "I've already told you everything that's in this file. If not, more."

He snatches it back and tosses it into the the paper shredder. He stares into my eyes as the little motor whirs behind him.

Akio "I'm from the "Home Security" Branch. There's an official name, but that's not something I can tell you."

He opens up the paper shredder and tosses the small amount of confetti into the burning fireplace. He turns back to me again.

Akio "The people you are working with do not play nice, Isuka. Please remember to take them seriously at all times."

Isuka "I was aware that they weren't nice people when they pulled me out of my house in an ambulance and stuck me in a straight-jacket for eight hours."

Akio "Then you should know better than to stick your nose in a file that's labeled "classified" in big red letters."

He's got me there. I guess I've gotten a bit careless since I left my little work area.

Isuka "I understand."

Akio "Then that's everything work-related out of the way. Now for personal matters..."

The man in front of me is a person I haven't spoken to for almost a year. Setou Akio is a person I considered family until we fell out of contact. He's something of an uncle, or maybe a godfather.

The reason I considered him family in the first place was because I was in a close relationship with his son.

 _Was._

I don't know what happened, but I do remember everything from the night before they vanished. It was the first year anniversary of our relationship. I had disabled his house's security system and sneaked in. Well, I'll just be blunt right here and say that I slept with him. That is, I had sex with him. It was my first time, so it's still engraved in my memory. The following morning, I woke up to an empty house. The entire Setou family had vanished from my hometown, and was nowhere to be found.

Akio "Hey, are you listening to me?"

Isuka "Sorry, I was thinking about how you vanished into thin air with the boy I loved."

He grimaces. I must have said that with more hostility than I intended.

Akio "I have an excuse."

Isuka "If it has anything to do with your 'Home Security' job, I don't want to hear it."

He flinches. _Bullseye._

Isuka "You didn't even leave a note. What the hell, Akio? How was I supposed to cope with something like that?"

Akio "I'm sorry. I really am, Isuka."

I cool my head for a moment and take a deep breath.

Isuka "...Save your breath, Akio. It's in the past now. Sorry I went off on you like that."

Akio "I don't blame you. It wasn't exactly unwarranted."

 **BGM: Afternoon**

I stand up and look around for something to change the subject. I point at the windows that line the walls.

Isuka "What's with all of the windows anyway? This is supposed to be a safehouse, so why did you fill it with windows?"

He stands up and beckons me over to the window.

Akio "These windows aren't made from glass. I don't know what they're made of. I tested it myself to make sure it was safe."

He opens the curtains on a nearby window to reveal a nasty-looking dent that's the size of a quarter. There are a few fragments of what looks to be copper, and the material around the dent is slightly blackened.

Isuka "What's this mark here?"

Akio "I shot this thing with a 12.7x108mm, and that's all it did. Insane, isn't it?"

Isuka "You shot it with an anti-tank rifle? In Japan? You're right, you _are_ insane."

Akio "You still have a sharp tongue. You've hardly changed. Do you still have that silly visor?"

Isuka "Not at the moment. Left it back at the office."

Akio "So they still have you on a leash?"

I lift up my wrist and show him the bracelet that's fixed tightly around it. Upon close inspection, it's not an ordinary bracelet. It has a tiny LCD screen that displays my heartbeat. Though this bracelet also comes with a tracking device.

Akio "That's a cute disguise. At least you won't get funny looks for having it."

Isuka "They let me pick the model and color, at least. It looks pretty normal."

Akio "Have you figured out where you're transferring yet?"

Isuka "It's a school not far from here. It's called Yamaku Academy. I've been told that it's a 'special school for special kids', but nothing more than that."

Akio "Oh, let me clarify that for you. It's a school for the disabled."

Isuka "Oh. Now I see. It was clearly a mistake asking them to pick the school for me."

Akio "Well, they have a few people working there as nurses, so it'll be easier to keep an eye on you. It's also convenient for your condition."

Isuka "Dying from a heart attack is not high on my list of priorities. I guess I should thank them after all."

Akio "When do you transfer in?"

Isuka "Tomorrow morning, or rather, in a few hours."

Akio "...Then what are you doing still awake?"

Isuka "I slept almost the entire trip. I'll be fine even if I don't sleep."

It was an eight hour long trip to come here. I have plenty of energy.

Suddenly, I hear two growling noises.

Isuka "Looks like we both need food. Want to order food? Should I make something?"

Akio "You just got here. You probably need to report to your team, right? I'll just order a pizza."

I reach into my pants pocket pull out a few banknotes. I force the money into his hand and walk over to my suitcase next to the couch.

Isuka "Get a family size with extra meat and cheese. I'll pay half."

He looks at the notes in his hand and looks confused for a moment.

Akio "How did you get this? You haven't accessed your savings account recently."

Isuka "I would love to ask how you know that, but that would get us nowhere. That was generous tip I got on the job."

Akio "A tip? From a foreigner, I'm guessing." (It's considered bad manners to offer someone a tip in Japan. Just found this out a little while ago. .)

Isuka "I think he was Russian, judging from his accent."

Akio scoffs at me as he reaches for the phone. I turn around and unzip my luggage. I pull out my laptop and power it up after sitting back down on the couch.

I unzip my jacket and throw it at the coat rack in the corner of the room. I'm wearing a tight blue tank top and a simple cross necklace. I browse my computer for a while before starting up my communications program. Any calls made using this computer are encrypted to keep uninvited guests from tapping my calls.

I select the group titled "COHW1P" (which we all jokingly refer to as "Cool Huwhip" heh!), and press the Join Group Facechat button.

NAH-Yuka has joined the call.

 **BGM: Ah Eh I Oh You**

DL:AP-Kiro "Hey, guys, Yuka's here!"

Three faces besides my own show up on the screen. We can see each other face to face, but our real names are abbreviated because of company policy. Though we know each other's real names, and they said that abbreviating real names wasn't smart.

NAH-Yuka "What's up guys? It's been an hour or so since I arrived at my new safehouse."

UMOM-Note "You've arrived safely, I presume?"

NAH-Yuka "Yeah. This place is pretty nice. It's a two story house with tank-proof windows."

The Capital letters in front of our names are codenames. They are usually abbreviations or acronyms of a words or set of words we use often. "NAH" stands for "Not A Hacker", obviously. UMOM is more obvious than my codename. "DL:AP" stands for "Don't Like: Annoying People". We still don know what Kyle's codename means.

DISBOTT-Kyle "You mean Anti-Tank Rifle proof windows. A tank could probably break them with some effort."

NAH-Yuka "How did you know that?"

DISBOTT-Kyle "I can see the window brand name in your background. I'm familiar with the brand you're using."

That's right, the webcam is facing the windows.

Akio "Talking with your collegues?"

Akio appears in the webcam, drawing wolf whistles from the other two females in the chat.

DL:AP-Kiro "Who's _that_ handsome man? I want his number."

UMOM-Note "Don't try to poach her boyfriend. That's a violation of rule #15 of the internet."

Akio "Don't try to flatter me. I'm not quite young enough to be her boyfriend."

NAH-Yuka "This is Akio, he's my bodyguard for the next two years."

DISBOTT-Kyle "Well, thanks for taking the time to fill us in. Go ahead and get settled in. I have some work to do, so I'll see you all later."

DISBOTT-Kyle has left the call.

DL:AP-Kiro "Aww. That's no fun."

UMOM-Note "It's not really his fault. He's the only guy in our group, so I'm sure it gets a little irritating."

DL:AP-Kiro "What are you talking about? He's the luckiest hacker in the world! He's surrounded by cute nerd girls all day long."

NAH-Yuka "What if you were surrounded by _bishounen_ hackers all day long?" (Bishounen = Beautiful Young Man)

DL:AP-Kiro "...Point taken."

NAH-Yuka "I have to hang up, too. I have a lot of unpacking to do, and I have school in a few hours. I'll see you two later."

DL:AP-Kiro "You mean play around with your boyfrie-"

DL:AP-Kiro has been muted by the call host.

UMOM-Note "Good luck, Yuka. Take care and let us know how school goes."

Call Ended

 **BGM: Nocturne**

Akio "What's with the weird names? Is that some hacker lingo?"

Isuka "It's just some abbreviations and acronyms. They said that using your real name to make a codename was stupid, and yet it's company policy to do it. Even though I'm not a hacker."

Akio "Last week's newspaper said otherwise."

Isuka "The newspaper also said that I volunteered to help. It didn't say shit about me getting arrested."

Akio "Fair enough."

I close the lid on my PC and tuck it under one arm. I grab my suitcase with my free hand and walk out of the living room.

 **Saturday, 2:15 AM, Home, My room.**

Isuka "Whew, done."

I've put my small amount of clothing away in my closet. I hear the doorbell ring twice and Akio shouting "I'm coming!" as he answers. I guess the pizza's arrived. I poke my head out of my room and peek down the stairs, and sure enough, I see Akio cautiously hand a puzzled delivery boy some bills.

Akio "Keep the change."

He closes the door in the poor kid's face and, after locking the door, turns around with a large pizza box in his hand.

Akio "Wash your hands. Dinner's here."

 **Saturday, 2:45 AM, Home, My room.**

After eating, I threw the remaining two thirds of the pizza in the fridge and said goodnight to Akio, even though I'm not going to sleep.

I sit down on my bed cross-legged and open up my PC again. The machine whirs to life in a few seconds with everything the way I left it an hour ago.

I hide the window of the phone program and pull up my gaming account. I enter my username and password and hit "log in". The game hub pops up with a list of games I have installed.

Isuka "I'll just pass the time with..."

I see several first person shooters in my library. I'm in the mood for a scare. One of the games in my horror section catches my eye.

Isuka "...a few custom stories for _Forgotten_."

 **Saturday, 5:30 AM, Home, My room.**

I hear a knock on the door and Akio's voice.

Akio "Shouldn't you be getting ready for school now?"

I look at the clock and do a double take.

 **BGM: Hokabi**

Isuka "Half past five already?! I have to get ready!"

I stand up carefully, trying not to make myself pass out. I run down the stairs as fast as I can without killing myself and pull two slices of leftover pizza from the fridge. I toss them into the microwave for thirty seconds and run up to my room again, where I strip my casuals off and search frantically for my uniform.

Isuka "Oh, right!"

I throw up the closet door and snatch the uniform off of it's hook. After looking it over, I pause for a moment.

Isuka "...Olive green? What a nasty color."

I throw my uniform on in a hurry. I requested a men's shirt since the woman's uniform in almost any school is constricting.

Isuka "This skirt is pretty long."

I finish buttoning up my shirt and put on a pair of black thigh-highs. Before I go out the door, I remember to take my medication.

Akio "All ready? Let's go."

I grab my pizza and hop into the back seat of the shady-looking black SUV. As Akio jumps into the driver's seat, I notice a holster poke out from under his jacket.

Isuka "Be careful. You don't want anyone to see that."

Akio "Sharp eyes. But I can't be too careful. Like I said, you make a lot of enemies in our line of work."

 **Saturday, 6:00 AM, Yamaku, Gate.**

 **BGM: Standing Tall**

This is it.

This is my new high school. I'm starting as a second-year student because of my age. It would have been nice to start as a first-year, but beggars can't be choosers.

The gate looks pretty old-fashioned. Red brick with black cast-iron, it sticks out from everything else. A plaque mounted on the wall next to the gate reads "Yamaku Academy".

I smile to myself and step through the gate without even a thought.

Akio "Do a quick checkup with the nurse. I'll pick you up in twelve hours."

Isuka "Understood."

Akio "Now then, have fun, okay?"

I grin at him as he rolls up the window and drives away.

I turn back around and walk deeper into the school grounds.

 _Now then, where's the staff room?_

* * *

 **Hey all, I finished this chapter a few days ago, but haven't had time to upload it. I gave it a bit of TLC (spellchecks mostly), but don't hesitate to PM me if you find a typo or grammar error.**

 **In case you hadn't noticed, this story is already ahead of Kuroki's storyline, and since I plan on having them meet in a few areas, I need to write another chapter for him to catch up.**

 **Until then,**

 **-Writer**

 **P.S. Can you guys figure out what DISBOTT stands for? I really have no clue what it means, either.**

 **(ovo) AND REMEMBER THAT CEILING CAT IS ALWAYS WATCHING. ALWA- *breaks into a fit of giggles* N-never mind. See you later.  
** **-V V**


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